Austerity

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy sought a two-year extension to meet European Union deficit rules, as he lowered his growth forecast and predicted little relief from a record 27% unemployment rate.

The European Union completed a framework for tougher controls on spending by euro-area governments in a German-led bid to prevent a repeat of the debt crisis that has threatened to break apart the single currency.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s nine-month-old government announced its fifth austerity package in what may be a move to head off tougher conditions demanded as part of a potential European bailout.